Tagged: Action Comics

Baltimore: Superman Panel

  • News
  • September 29, 2008

The Baltimore Comic-Con Superman panel was moderated by editor Matt Idleson and included the new creative team behind Superman, Action Comics and Supergirl, which will begin having a closer relationship with each other (which one fan in the crowd unfortunately referred to as “the Supergirl book becoming a three-way with Action and Superman“). There was Geoff Johns, writer of Action Comics, James Robinson, who recently began writing duties on Superman, and the new Supergirl team of Sterling Gates and artist Jamal Igle.

Towards the end of the panel, Johns pointed out his Uncle Roger who was sitting in the audience and had first gotten him into comics as a child.

Supergirl #35 is the first issue under the new creative team of Gates and Igle. It is said to be a perfect jumping-on point, with a quick introduction to Kara Zor-El, including her origin and place in the DC Universe. And since it is part of the “New Krypton” story arc that will be running through the Superman books, Gates will touch on the recent discovery of her parents being alive. The story will also introduce a smear campaign by Cat Grant after she publishes an article in the Daily Planet entitled “Why the World Doesn’t Need Supergirl.”

Gates will also be giving Supergirl a rogues gallery of her own, starting with a “tussle with Silver Banshee”. Robinson commented that Gates and Igle are “going to be one of the greatest combinations that DC has seen for a long time.” Igle himself said that he was so impressed by Gates’ writing that he felt he had to step up his own game on art chores. He added that Gates will defeat fan criticism of the teen Kryptonian, as he has made Superiglr “not only a likable character, but a sympathetic character.” Gates himself explained that he wanted to portray Kara as a fun, teenage hero rather than one focused on angst.

Several fans asked about the previous Supergirls and if they would be referenced. The panel pointed out that Linda Danvers is appearing in the Reign in Hell mini, but that otherwise they wouldn’t really be referenced as they don’t affect today’s Supergirl stories nor have any impact on Kara Zor-El’s life. But that doesn’t mean Supergirl isn’t going to have a more experienced mentor. Lana Lang, recently fired a LexCorp’s CEO, will be joining Kara and lending her advice from time to time.

I asked Johns who was running LexCorp now that Lana was gone and Lex was still a criminal. Johns said “Keep reading.”

When asked if Supergirl would have a secret identity, Gates smiled and said “Good idea.”

I met with Jamal Igle afterwards and looked over the artwork for the next issue of Supergirl, folks, and it looks wonderful. I also asked Jamal if Kara would be getting a new costume soon, since several fans have been critical of her exposed stomach and a new costume was hinted at in Final Crisis #3. Jamal Igle replied that he had submitted a subtle re-design but that it was felt there was no need to change her look completely now since she was still recognizable on sight and no one wanted to mess with that.

I’m also guessing that DC may be a bit protective of a costume that was designed by Michael Turner, who sadly left us so recently.

(more…)

Over $70k Riased for Siegel House

Over $70k Riased for Siegel House

  • News
  • September 24, 2008

The fourth and final week of the auction to raise funds to restore Jerry Siegel’s childhood Cleveland home has begun. The auction runs through 11:59 p.m. on September 30, 2008.

After two weeks, the $50,000 goal was met and exceeded.  At the conclusion of week three’s auction, organizer Brad Meltzer reported that more than $70,000 has been raised. “In every city I’ve been to, people are throwing in a few bucks, completely unprompted,” Meltzer told Comic Book Resources. “This is the week that will decide the extent of the work we do on the house. So even if you don’t bid on the walk-on part in Heroes, thanks to all who buy a shirt or donate even ten bucks to the cause. It all matters.”

The Glenville Development Corp. has scheduled September 27 as the day they clean the Siegel homestead on Kimberly Avenue. Volunteers are being sought to rake, sweep, plant flower bulbs (in red, blue and yellow of course) and paint and make small repairs to porches and the exterior of some houses.

The top money-earner has been the $14,101 bid for an illustration by Jim Lee to depict Superman and the auction winner.

(more…)

ComicMix Radio: Printing Errors Fuel Speculators Dreams

ComicMix Radio: Printing Errors Fuel Speculators Dreams

As we told you on Tuesday’s broadcast, DC has been plagued with a few printing errors one of which was Action Comics #869 that was recalled last week and redistributed this week. Why? The answer is a little simple, literally, plus:

  • Heroes‘ website expands including new web episodes
  • Marvel’s original online comics are here
  • Meet the cast of ABC Family’s Samurai Girl

And if you think we are kidding about Action #869, there are several on eBay right now for as much as $39.99.
Stop laughing and  Press the Button!


 

And remember, you can always subscribe to ComicMix Radio podcasts via iTunes - ComicMix or RSS!

 

Gallery of Recalled Classics

Gallery of Recalled Classics

  • News
  • September 18, 2008

Comic book fan Charlie Meyerson, currently a reporter for the Chicago Tribune, helped assemble a photo gallery of infamously recalled comic books.  We direct your attention to their website.

Not every title included here was recalled nor is this list in any way complete.  But in the wake of last week’s recall and reprinting of Action Comics #869, All-Star Batman & Robin #10, and DC: Decisions #1, it was a good time to go tripping down memory lane.

Siegel and Shuster Society tops $50K

Siegel and Shuster Society tops $50K

  • News
  • September 17, 2008

A total of $53,455 has been raised by the Siegel and Shuster Society’s fund raising efforts after just two weeks.  The $50,000 goal for exterior repairs to Jerry Siegel’s’ boyhood home was exceeded after week two’s auction haul of $18,996.  Two more weeks of auction will proceed while t-shirt sales will continue.  Once the auction ends, work will begin on both the exterior and interior of the home.

(more…)

Examining What Went Wrong With ‘All-Star Batman’ #10

Examining What Went Wrong With ‘All-Star Batman’ #10

  • News
  • September 10, 2008

All-Star Batman & Robin #10 has caused some controversy since DC Comics announced it was recalling issues scheduled to be on sale today.  They described the problem through the Diamond Comics announcement that it was a printing error.

Apparently, Frank Miller’s expletive-filled dialogue was intended to be blacked out but the process employed failed to effectively do this.

The actual dialogue and scans of the offending pages can be found over at Comic Book Resources. According to Heidi MacDonald at The Beat, Miller insisted his dialogue be lettered in and blacked out.  The production approach clearly failed to achieve the desired effect but editorial judgment has also to be questioned.

According to former DCer Brian Pearce over at the DC Archives board, “What puzzles me is the suggestion that the dialog in the word balloons might have printed in a four-color black (essentially, solid black backed up with a small percentage of the other process colors), while the bar that was supposed to obscure it was just a flat black, and not adequately opaque. ‘Backing up the black’ as it’s called, is often used to give large flat black areas a more ‘rich’ (and less washed out) appearance, or to ward off problems with trapping (when registration is slightly off) — but what strikes me as odd is that there’s really no need to do that with a fine detail like lettering. It’s not really necessary, and against a white background, that would betray even the slightest misregistration. (And even as comics printing and coloring have become more elaborate through the years, lettering inside baloons and caption boxes was genenerally left as only black because it was easiest to strip out that detail from just that one plate for foreign licensees and reprints.)

“And before the usual suspects start speculating on who might lose a job over this, this is an error that would be difficult, if not impossible to spot without a very specific type of proof, or a press proof. (It was probably caught on one of the unbound ‘last chance copies,’ when the books have been printed and bound, but there’s still time to do something.)”

Copies are already being hawked at eBay and its likely that similar to similar recalled comics, such as the Elseworlds 80-Page Giant, it will remain a rare collectible.

Unnoticed in all this was that Action Comics #869 and DC: Decisions #1 were also recalled for other printing problems.  The reasons behind these two remain unclear.
 

Drew Struzan Retires

Drew Struzan Retires

  • News
  • September 5, 2008

Legendary movie poster artist Drew Struzan announced his retirement earlier this week. According to a post at The Raider, Struzan made the announcement this way on September 3:

"Having been working at not working has produced a guy who could never return to illustration again. It took a lot to attempt the idea of retiring from my 40 years of effort and sacrifice but now that I have, I am delighting in life as never before. I had forgotten how to rest, to smell the proverbial roses and to see the future as opportunity. I am grateful and honored to have had the opportunity to do all the work I did. I am well pleased to have been able to give a gift of beauty and peace through my artwork to so many throughout the world. Now I have laid down the burden and have peace and happiness as the reward for my day’s labor."

Struzan, of course, is best known for his paintings for George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, notably Raiders of the Lost Ark.  His film credits also include E.T., Back to the Future, Blade Runner, The Goonies, the Muppet movies, Harry Potter, and Hellboy.

He’s done countless science fiction and adventure book covers including a rare foray into comics for Action Comics #800.

His album art has stretched from Black Sabbath to Alice Cooper, Dean Martin to Roy Orbison.

His contributions to the field are much appreciated and his efforts will be missed.

Superman Timeline

Superman Timeline

  • News
  • September 4, 2008

As most of us know, this year marked Superman’s 70th anniversary. And as if that weren’t enough to engender conversation about the Man of Steel, Brad Meltzer’s new novel Book of Lies  has prompted quite a bit of discussion concerning Martin Siegel, who died during an armed robbery and whose son Jerome "Jerry" Siegel subsequently wrote the story of a bullet-proof alien who was invulnerable to all frailties.

So with all this talk going around about Superman’s beginnings, we here at ComicMix thought it was time to put together a small Superman time line. Please note, this time line is focused solely on Supermans’ adventures in the comics and not with his stories in other media.

1933 – Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster publish their story “Reign of the Super-Man." In the story, the title character is a bald homeless man named Bill Dunn who gains telepathic powers from a mad scientist’s experiment and intends to take over Earth. After this, Siegel writes up a new version of Superman who is secreatly named Clark Kent and is, in fact, an alien named Kal-L, son of Jor-L and last survivor of the dead planet Krypton. Shuster does artwork for the comic strip and they begin to submit it. The story is rejected by 17 different publishers over the next five years.

1938 – Superman/Clark Kent is finally introduced in Action Comics #1. Although Siegel has plotted out the name of Superman’s parents and planet, none of these are actually named in this issue’s origin story. Superman is said to have great strength, resistance to conventional injury, and is able to leap 1/8th of a mile.

1939 – In Superman #1, the planet Krypton is finally named in the comics. It is also mentioned that Clark Kent was raised by a kindly, elderly couple. His adopted mother is named “Mary Kent” and it’s said that she and her husband died soon before Clark moved to Metropolis.

1940 – In Action Comics #23, Clark’s newspaper The Daily Star is officially renamed as The Daily Planet and Superman has his first fight with “Luthor, the mad scientist.”

1941 – Superman #10 features our hero actually defying gravity for the first time by hovering in the air. Previous to this, it was always stated in the comics that he could only leap over great distances. Superman #11 confirms that Superman can now fly, just like in the cartoons and radio shows.

1942 – Superman #17 reveals that the Man of Tomorrow has a hidden base known as the Secret Citadel, located inside a mountain range nearby Metropolis.

1945 – The character of Superboy (an adolescent version of Superman) and his hometown of Smallville are introduced in More Fun Comics #101. Initially, this is treated as a separate continuity from the mainstream Superman stories.

1948 – Superman #53 names Clark’s adopted parents as “John and Mary Kent.”

1949 – Kryptonite makes its first comic book appearance in comics in Superman #61 (originally, it was only used in the radio plays). In this story, Kryponite is colored red but in all subsequent stories it is colored green (other forms of Kryptonite with different colors will appear later on). In this same story, Superman finally learns the name and history of his home planet Krypton, even though readers have known such facts for years already.

(more…)

Interview: Geoff Johns on “Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds” and his Favorite Projects

Interview: Geoff Johns on “Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds” and his Favorite Projects

  • News
  • August 1, 2008

Back in June, I spoke to superstar writer Geoff Johns about the return of Brainiac in Action Comics and all things Superman. With this month’s release of the first issue of Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds, I spoke to the writer about bringing back one of DC’s most beloved superteams, The Legion of Super-Heroes, as well as some of his favorite projects.

COMICMIX: What can you tell us about the Final Crisis: Legion Of Three Worlds miniseries?

GEOFF JOHNS: It’s a really complex, big story. But the simple premise is that it’s Superboy-Prime and The Legion Of Super Villains vs. Superman and The Legion Of Super-Heroes. Superboy-Prime is foreign to the future and through what happens when he first gets there he makes an attempt to destroy everything that Superman has inspired while utilizing the Legion Of Super Villains. So the Legion Of Super-Heroes, who are struggling to come back together, who are almost obsolete at this point in the eyes of a lot of the United Planets, have got to come back and rally together for this challenge.

I’m trying to focus in on character here. I’m trying to introduce these characters to people that don’t know them and for those that do, to see them go through new experiences and new challenges. My main goal in this series is to tell a gigantic, epic story that centers on Superman and The Legion Of Super-Heroes. It’s just like when I worked on Sinestro Corps War, I wanted to do an epic Green Lantern story. There is a lot of emotion behind everything in this. That’s what I’m trying to focus on: the emotion of the characters and what they’re going through. Why should you even care about a character like Lightning Lad, Sun Boy or Dawnstar? What makes these characters compelling? Why are they worth following? Why are they worth learning about? My main goal is to, by the end of it, have people say, “I love Dawnstar! I love Sun Boy! I like Lightning Lad" or "I like Cosmic Boy!"

(more…)

SDCC: Superman: Man of Tomorrow panel

  • News
  • July 25, 2008

DC Comics ran their first panel of the show on Thursday morning with DC: Superman: Man of Tomorrow.  The panel was moderated by editor Matt Idelson and featured writers Geoff Johns, James Robinson, and Sterling Gates along with artists Jamal Igle and Renato Guedes (who was provided with a translator, yet never spoke).

Johns kicked off the panel by asking how many in the crowd were reading Action Comics to a strong, but noticeably short of unanimous, ovation.  He then continued to explain that what they’re trying to do right now in the books is to create a cohesive universe for Superman so they can “start telling big excellent stories”.

As an example of a big excellent story Johns went on to explain the upcoming “New Krypton” story arc.  Coming out of the current Brainiac story Kandor will be restored to full size on Earth.  “100,000 Kryptonians come to Earth and say, cool this is New Krypton, and Superman’s like, ‘no it ain’t.’” said Johns.

The panel then turned towards the role of Supergirl in the upcoming stories. Gates expressed a desire to turn the book from a “B”-list title to a more marquee title.  Igle said of Gates’ first issue, “I was surprised at how good his script was.  I had to go back and read it twice.”

Johns went on to discuss the return of Cat Grant to the Superman titles and the relationship between her and Supergirl.  He said that one of the first thing she would do is publish an article called “Why the World Doesn’t Need a Supergirl.”  It was later revealed that this article would make up the first page of Gates’ run on Supergirl.

(more…)

Categories

Archives

Everything you need to make great comics!

comicmix-pro-300x69-2

Nucleus X

Bookshop Zaks